While most in baseball still shudder at the thought of that monstrous $325 million deal that Giancarlo Stanton signed with the Marlins, it’s not as outrageous as it seems on the surface when you consider what Miami owner Jeffrey Loria and president David Samson told Pirates president Frank Coonelly recently.

“They thought it was a great deal. I just couldn’t get my head around the $325 million. They said to me, ‘You don’t understand. (Stanton) has an out clause after six years. Those first six years are only going to cost $107 million. After that, he’ll leave and play for somebody else. So, it’s not really $325 million.’”

What’s going on in Miami lately? When the Marlins promised Stanton that they would continue to build a team around him that was supposed to be a pile of BS intended only to get Stanton to sign on the dotted line, right? Apparently not.

The Marlins have been wheeling and dealing ever since locking in their right fielder and have since added speedster Dee Gordon and some right-handed power in Michael Morse to an already talent laden lineup that potentially looks like this:

Apparently they’re still not done as rumors circulate that they are shopping starting pitcher Dan Haren – who they obtained in the Gordon trade – to a West Coast team for another arm to bolster their bullpen.

The Marlins improved by 15 games in 2014 and are hungry for more according to president of baseball operations Michael Hill.

“When you lose 100 games, you’ve got a lot of work to do,” said. “We made a lot of strides in 2014, but as we’ve said, we still have more to do and further to go, because we still aren’t playing into October, and that’s the ultimate goal. We wanted to continue to build upon the assets that we have.”

“We feel like we’ve got good, young players, and we want to surround them with players who give us the opportunity to win games,” Hill said. “I think we’re on our way into doing that. We’re trying to make our club better and address needs we’ve identified to help us improve.”

The Marlins are definitely a team to watch in 2015 as they are now viewed as legitimate contenders for at least a Wild Card. The scary part is that most baseball experts believe that Stanton, Yelich and Ozuna haven’t even scratched the surface of their vast potential.

If you would have told me one month ago that the Mets would play meaningful games in September, I would have laughed it off and then said: “sure, next September.” Now, with 16 games to go, the Mets find themselves just 5 1/2 games out of the second wildcard spot. They trail the Pirates who haven’t exactly shined in the month of September.

Despite a recent 5-game winning streak, the Pirates are 6-5 since the last day of August. While they have the ability to secure the 2nd Wildcard with a solid September, nothing about the Pirates screams playoffs.

The Mets on the other hand have been red hot. They’ve won 8 of their last 10 games and have gotten solid pitching and surprising offense during that stretch. Despite very small odds, the Mets are still alive and are playing meaningful games in September.

“We’ve got to make September mean something” Terry Collins told Mike Puma of The Daily News. “September can be a real long month if we’re not playing for something and we brought it up to the guys that they are not out of the hunt yet, just because they are 10 or 12 or 13 games back in the division, doesn’t mean we’re out of the hunt.”

10 or 12 games might be too much to overcome, but with 16 games to go, 5 1/2 isn’t unheard of. The 2007 Mets had a 7 game lead and wound up losing the division in one of the worst collapses in baseball history. The odds are long but not impossible.

Lucas Duda added that “We have a chance. Everybody in that room thinks we have a chance. If we keep playing well, anything can happen, so be optimistic. Go out there and play hard and see what happens.”

Wednesday night Rafael Montero did his best to keep the Mets playoff hopes alive. He delivered a solid 5 1/3 inning outing, striking out 7. He didn’t allow a hit until the 5th inning.

Montero should get another start at some point this month but for now the Mets turn their attention to the division leading Washington Nationals. They will face stiff pitching with Jordan Zimmerman and Gio Gonzalez making two of the starts in the series. Spirits seem high and it will be interesting to see how this team fights through the remaining three weeks of September.

However, this doesn’t mean either player should be packing their bags anytime soon. The fact that they cleared waivers means that teams were not interested.

Sometimes you get lucky and an injury can lead a team to reevaluate and try to trade for these players as we saw last year when the Mets traded John Buck and Marlon Byrd to the Pirates for Vic Black and top prospect Dilson Herrera. However, both were also owed very little and had expiring contracts unlike Niese and Granderson.

Most teams will put a dozen or so of their players on revocable waivers to try and gauge whether there’s any interest in the players. If a player is claimed by another team, teams have 48 hours to work out a deal or the player can be pulled back.

There were rumors and speculation that Bartolo Colon would be placed on waivers after the non-waiver deadline, but according to reports that never happened and quite frankly I never expected it to as the Mets could likely get more in the offseason or include him as part of a bigger deal for a bat.

]]>http://metsmerizedonline.com/2014/08/granderson-and-niese-clear-waivers.html/feed/0Di-JEST: With CY Gone Who Will Drop Down The Slack?http://metsmerizedonline.com/2014/08/di-jest-with-cy-gone-who-will-drop-down-the-slack.html/
http://metsmerizedonline.com/2014/08/di-jest-with-cy-gone-who-will-drop-down-the-slack.html/#commentsSat, 09 Aug 2014 10:52:24 +0000http://metsmerizedonline.com/?p=162951

Just as we all remember where we were when 2-1/2 Men fired Charlie Sheen or when SUBWAY stopped offering their horseradish sauce dressing, we Mets fans will always remember where we were when we learned that Chris Young was “designated for assignment.”

When good teams lose a player, as the Pirates recently did with Andrew McCutchen, they look around for a player or two to pick up the slack, to try to replace as much of the player’s production as possible. No one expects Starling Marte to become McCutchen while he’s rehabbing, but for the Pirates to stay relevant Marte will have to be better. The same can be said of several other Pirates.

So I wonder whether it works the other way?

What we’ll most remember about the Chris Young Experiment (the outfielder one, not the ungodly tall one who is tearing the American League a new one in Seattle) is the feebleness of his outmaking.

Sure he had a load of strikeouts but to me his signature out was the infield popup, sometimes stretched to a can of corn for an outfielder lazily drifting in. And while the great majority of his hits went to left field, Chris managed to distribute his infield popups all over and in fair and foul territory.

Who is going to replace that? If manager Terry Collins opts to give Anthony Recker more starts down the stretch then the strikeouts we’ve seen from Young will be covered nicely there.

But those pansy popups may be just irreplaceable.

I admit that this is taking a parting potshot at a fellow who tried hard but just failed miserably. And had he been making the minimum baseball salary I probably wouldn’t even go there. But even when he’s released he will be paid his full salary. Alderson and the Mets gambled $7.25 million on this player. Even Bernie Madoff would not have paid off on a bet like that.

In my recap Saturday, I didn’t do right by Jeurys Familia by simply stating that the big rightly tossed two perfect innings in the Mets 5-3 win over the Pirates. In a word, of better yet two words, Familia was “downright nasty.”

Once regarded as one of the Mets’ top starting pitching prospects, Familia has adapted well in his new role in the bullpen, and with each new appearance the confidence continues to grow.

“If you have confidence in your stuff, you can throw strikes,” Familia told reporters after his stellar outing this weekend.

One of the things that has held Familia back has been the walks. His 96-98 fastball and killer breaking stuff was nasty, no doubt, but commanding his arsenal has been a problem in the past.

Things didn’t exactly start off well for Familia this season who posted a 4.66 ERA and walked six in eight April appearances. But he soon adjusted and got comfortable with his role, and then turned a sharp corner.

“I’m going to tell you, I have been around a lot of young pitchers. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that big a step forward,” manager Terry Collins said on Saturday.“

“There was a time in April you wanted to know if he was going to be able to stick here. All he’s done now is put himself in a position where every close game he’s got to be in the game. He’s got to pitch seven, eight or nine in those close games.”

Familia turned in an impressive performance in May, posting a 1.93 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 18 relief appearances while holding the opposition to a .190 batting average. But June would be even better as his 0.69 ERA and .156 opponent batting average would attest.

Coupled with fellow Nasty Boy, closer Jenrry Mejia, the Mets bullpen is now being headlined by two homegrown flame-throwers who have emerged as top-shelf, late-game relievers. And who knows, a year from now they may even be elite. We’ll have to wait and see, but for now you’ve gotta love how these two have developed.

The New York Mets wrap up their four-game series on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 PM at PNC Park.

Bartolo Colon (8-5, 3.67) looks to continue his recent run of success on the mound against Edinson Volquez (5-6, 4.35) in the first official game of the second half of the season.

Colon has been nothing but outstanding in his last seven starts for the Mets. He is 6-0 with an ERA of 1.58 over that span with opponents hitting .191 against him. He as 39 strikeouts to nine walks during that time frame. Since May 17th, Colon has the second-lowest ERA in the major leagues, trailing just Felix Hernandez with his 1.48.

Bartolo has allowed two earned runs or less in seven straight starts which ties the longest streak in his career. Colon has had 30 starts over the last two seasons in which he allowed two earned runs or fewer which is eighth in the major leagues over that span. On top of all of that, Colon has gone eight innings in consecutive starts for the second time in two years. The last time he did that was back in 2003.

The Mets snapped a three-game losing streak on Saturday when they defeated the Pirates 5-3. The Mets are sitting just four wins away from 4,000 in franchise history. They are 6-4 in their last 10 games, and are 17-11 this season in day games, so it is setting up nicely for win 3,997.

New York was solid on the base path Saturday tying a season-high with five swipes. It was the 27th time in team history that they recorded at least five steals in a game. Eric Young Jr led the way stealing three which also tied a career high for him. It was the second time this season and fourth of his career that he finished with at least three. With 21 stolen bases on the season, Young Jr is now fourth in the majors.

Ruben Tejada is working on a little bit of a hit streak. He has at least one hit in seven straight games, and has gone 9-for-25 in that span for an average of .360. He is hitting .300 over his last 26 games, and with 33 walks he is tied for fourth in the major among shortstops.

Eric Campbell who started at third in place of David Wright, had a career-high three hits including two doubles. He also recorded his first stolen base of his career.

Travis d’Arnaud has recorded at least one hit in each of the four games since returning from Las Vegas. He has gone 6-for-16 raising his batting aver over 20 points from .180 to .201

Starting Lineup

The Mets look to end their four game set with the Pirates today. The Mets were able to pick up the win yesterday, snapping their losing streak and putting themselves into position to split the series today behind Bartolo Colon. Colon is 8-5 over 15 starts this year with a 3.67 ERA over 100.2 innings. In his last six starts he has pitched 43.1 innings with a 5-0 record and a 1.45 ERA. He also pitched once against the Pirates this year where he allowed 5 hits and no runs over 7.1 innings while walking 1 and striking out 9. The Pirates have the following numbers against Colon:

Stewart 4-11, HR

Snider 3-9

McCutchen 3-8

Marte 0-7

Alvarez 2-6, 2B

Martin 1-6, 2B

Volquez is on the bump for the Pirates today. He is 5-6 over 16 games and 15 starts over 89.0 innings with a 4.35 ERA. June has been an up ad down month for Volquez. He started off average, then had his best start of the season allowing no runs over 7, then his worst start of the season allowing 8 runs over 2.1 followed by his longest outing of the year allowing one run over 8. Earlier this year he faced the Mets allowing 2 earned runs over 5.0 innings while walking 5 and striking out 6. The Mets have teh following numbers against him:

The Mets lost in extra innings last night, making three straight losses and putting themselves in a position of needing to win tonight and tomorrow in order to split the series. Jon Niese (4-4, 2.78) opposes right-hander Gerrit Cole (6-3, 3.64) in the 4:05 PM game at PNC Park.

Niese has gone 19 consecutive starts allowing three earned runs or less, the longest current streak in the majors. It is also tied for the fourth-longest streak in team history and longest since Johan Santana went 21 straight starts in 2009. Niese is 6-5 with a 2.85 ERA (39 earned runs/123.1 innings) during this run which dates back to September 13 of last year.

Travis d’Arnaud had a career-high three hits last night and has hit in all four games since he was recalled from Las Vegas (AAA). He is 6-16 (.375) with three RBI during that span and has raised his batting average 21 points from .180 to .201 in those four games.

Josh Edgin has retired all 20 first batters he’s faced this season, a new franchise record. Opponents are hitting .103 (4-39) against Edgin, the lowest mark among qualified major league relievers.

Jon Niese will take the hill for the Amazin’s and he is 4-4 over 15 starts and 97.0 innings with a 2.78 ERA. In each of his last two starts he has gone 6.0 innings allowing 3 ER, something he hasn’t done since the middle of May where he did that three straight games in a row. Knock on wood, he hasn’t allowed more than 3 ER in any start this season. He faced the Pirates when they were in Queens earlier this year allowing 2 ER over 5.2 innings while walking 2 and striking out 4. The Pirates have the following numbers against him:

Sanchez 6-23, 2B, HR

Barmes 6-16, 2B, HR

Martin 1-10

McCutchen 4-10, 2 2B

Walker 1-8

Harrison 1-6, 2B

Gerrit Cole climbs the mound for the Pirates. On the season he is 6-3 over 12 starts and 76.2 innings with a 3.64 ERA. In his last three starts he has pitched 18.0 innings with a 2-0 record and a 3.00 ERA. He has made one start against the Mets in his career where he allowed 3 ER over 6.0 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against Cole:

The Mets will try to snap their two-game losing streak when they continue their series against the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight at PNC Park. Jacob deGrom (1-4, 3.75) opposes right-hander Brandon Cumpton (3-2, 4.93) in a 7:05 PM matchup.

DeGrom won his first major league game in his last start on June 21 at Miami, tossing 7.0 shutout innings, allowing five hits, walking three and striking out seven. He has allowed three runs or less in six of his first eight major league starts.

Lucas Duda has hit a home run in two straight games and is having himself quite a month of June at the plate. The Mets first baseman is hitting .290 (20-69) with nine doubles, five home runs and 15 RBI this month.

Ruben Tejada has hit in five straight games, going 7-17 (.412) with a .500 on-base percentage. Tejada is hitting .305 (25-82) since May 25, a span of 25 games and his 31 walks are the fifth-most in the majors by a shortstop.

Daniel Murphy leads the National League with 95 hits, is ninth in the NL with a .309 road batting average and tied for eighth with 26 multi-hit games. Since 2012, only one player in the National League has more hits than Murphy’s 449, reigning MVP Andrew McCutchen who has 472.

Updated Starting Lineup

The Mets dropped the first game of the road trip yesterday to the Pirates, and they start the second game tonight as Jacob deGrom takes the mound against Brandon Cumpton. Jacob is 1-4 over 8 starts this season logging 48.0 innings with a 3.75 ERA. Last start he was coming off of the worst start of his career where he allowed 6 ER over 4.1 innings. He responded to that by pitching 7.0 innings of shutout ball. His third start of his career was against the Pirates where he shut them out for 6.2 innings allowing 5 hits, 5 walks and struck out 4 batters. The Pirates have the following numbers against deGrom:

Harrison 0-4

Walker 1-3

Alvarez 2-3, 2B

Davis 0-2

Marte 0-2

Martin 0-3

McCutchen 2-2

Brandon Cumpton is 3-2 on the season also over 8 starts like deGrom pitching 45.2 innings with a 4.93 ERA. Also just like deGrom, he is coming off of 7.0 inning shutout performance. His numbers in June have been much better than previously this season pitching in four starts, 23.1 innings with a 3.09 ERA. He faced the Mets earlier and allowed only two runs, one earned over 6.0 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

The Mets open a four-game series at Pittsburgh, with Daisuke Matsuzaka (3-1, 2.68) opposing right-hander Vance Worley (1-0, 1.98) at 7:05 PM tonight at PNC Park.

New York had its season high-tying three-game winning streak snapped last night. Despite the loss, the Mets have won five of their last seven and are 6-4 in their last 10 games.

In his last start, Dice-K received his first loss since September 2, 2013 in the Mets’ 3-2 defeat to the Marlins on June 20 at Marlins Park. He pitched 5.1 innings allowing one earned run and a season-high six hits while walking one and striking out four.

Prior to tonight’s game, the Mets will activate outfielder Juan Lagares from the 15-Day Disabled List. He was placed on the DL on June 2 with a right intercostal strain. The Mets optioned infielder Wilmer Flores to Las Vegas (AAA) to make room on the roster.

Ruben Tejada has hit in four straight games, going 6-14 (.429) with a .500 on-base percentage. Tejada is hitting .304 (24-79) since May 25, a span of 24 games. His 31 walks are the fifth-most by a shortstop.

The Mets lead the National League and are third in the majors with 283 walks. Oakland is first with 323 walks and Minnesota is second with 284. Curtis Granderson is third in the NL with 47 walks.

Starting Lineup

The Mets look to bounce back from the loss yesterday and get back to the winning track they have been on for the better part of hte last week in Pittsburgh tonight as they take on Ike Davis‘ new squad. Yesterday the Mets had the offense, but not the pitching in a bizarro world game experience. Today Matsuzaka gets the start for the Mets while the bats face in old foe in Vance Worley.

Matsuzaka is 3-1 on the season over 47.0 innings of work with a 2.68 ERA. In his last four outings he has started 3 times, pitched 13.1 innings and a sparkling 1.35 ERA. Daisuke has never faced the Pirates in his career but he has faced a few of the Pirates players while they were with other teams:

Snider 1-10

Barmes 0-2

Sanchez 0-2

Martin 1-1, 2B

Vance Worley, who debuted in the majors with Phillies is back to face the Mets with his new team. He has made two starts this year pitching 13.2 innings allowing only 3 ER. He pitched in 10 games, 8 starts against the Mets in his career going 3-4 with a 6.64 ERA. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reminds us that the player to be named later in the Ike Davis trade with the Pirates will not be announced immediately after the draft.

The PTBNL cannot be announced until a year after he signed his first pro contract, not a year after he was drafted.

If it does turn out to be Connecticut prep right-hander Neil Kozikowski, which has been widely speculated, he signed June 21. So the Mets would have to wait until the one-year anniversary to receive him. Kozikowski was selected in the eighth round and signed for an over slot $425,000 in 2013.

John Harper of the Daily News also believes that the PTBN is 19-year-old Kozikowski, whom the Pirates drafted in the eighth round of the 2013 draft.

I spoke to John Dreker of Pirates Prospects and he too picks Kozikowski as the player the Pirates will most likely trade.

Kozikowski throws his fastball in the high 80’s and also has a slider, changeup and cutter in his arsenal.

“The right-hander wasn’t on the radar in any top draft prospects rankings, but seems like the type of projectable arm the Pirates love. He’s 6′ 4″, 180 pounds, and throws 86-88 MPH but has touched 92. He throws from a 3/4 arm slot, and has a projectable frame, which could give him added velocity in the future. He also has a good changeup, a solid slider, and a cutter.”

He’s in extended spring training and was expected to be assigned to short-season Jamestown in the New York-Penn League.

Last season in his first taste of pro ball, Kozikowski posted a 2.63 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in 24 innings pitched.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post raises some red flags about Sandy Alderson’s plan for the team and says that his slow-and-steady approach is no guarantee for future success.

Taking the time to rebuild and “doing it right” slowly and methodically with player development does not guarantee an extended stretch of winning. Though that is what you are sold.

At best, that is a false promise; at worst, a con game. There is nothing that saves jobs in this sport like pledging a better tomorrow.

However, there also is this: If you tout all that is coming, you escape some current accountability.

Sherman says this plan is not just exclusive to the Mets, but that the Pirates, Astros, Padres, Twins and even the Cubs are all doing the same thing.

“You can get into good conversations with executives from all these organizations about the winning percentages of their farm teams or how many players they had in the Baseball America Top 100 prospects.”

“That is what I would be discussing, too, if my club spent this much time in the cellar. Self-preservation is a beautiful thing. But reality is that slow and steady wins all the time only in Aesop’s Fables.”

Sherman shifts focus to the Mets prospects specifically and points out the volatility in relying upon them to come in and save the franchise. He notes 2013′s top three Mets prospects; Harvey has already needed Tommy John surgery, and Wheeler and d’Arnaud have each had problematic apprenticeships.

“If you say, well maybe the Mets will be the Rays, know that the Rays have had three original signs since 2007 do much in the majors. If you are thinking the Moneyball A’s are the touchstone because of Alderson’s roots, then know that Oakland had four players it originally brought to its organization on the Opening Day roster, and one was Sonny Gray, who Alderson passed up in his first draft (2011) to take Nimmo.”

He concludes that the Mets approach is nothing like what Oakland and Tampa Bay have accomplished. Neither team relied upon a lengthy draft and develop process, but instead found success by being crafty and ingenious with trades and signings.

I can’t vouch for how accurate Sherman is here, but I am a firm believer that it all begins with solid starting pitching. I like what we have seen already and know that even more is on the way.

Once you have that solid foundation of pitching, you could then fill in any gaps through trades and free agency. My fear is whether we will be able to attract and sign those elite free agents that will be needed to put us over the top when the time comes?

The Mets conclude their series with Pittsburgh in Citi Field this afternoon at 1:10 PM and hope to come away with a series victory to close out a losing homestand. Bartolo Colon (3-5, 5.34 ERA) opposes right-hander Charlie Morton (1-6, 3.29) for the Bucs in the series finale.

Colon received the win in the Mets’ 5-2 victory against the Nationals on May 17, tossing a season-high 8.0 innings, allowing five hits and two runs, earned, including one home run. It was his longest outing since going 8.0 innings in Oakland’s 1-0 win on September 14, 2013.

Jenrry Mejia has not allowed an earned run in eight appearances since moving to the bullpen on May 12 and overcame another big hurdle on Tuesday when he picked up a two inning save. He has also worked back-to-back days and in both ends of a doubleheader previously, leaving working on three straight days as the final step toward becoming the official team closer.

Dillon Gee and Eric Young Jr. are now in Port St. Lucie for their rehabs. Young is on the disabled list, retroactive to May 25, with a right hamstring strain. He underwent an MRI today but has not had a reading on it yet. Gee is trying to return from a strained right lat muscle and suffered a setback which he blames on trying to rush back to quickly.

Catcher Travis d’Arnaud is back with the team today, although he will not be activated from the disabled list until Thursday when the Mets travel to Philadelphia for a four-game series against the Phillies.

Starting Lineup

The Mets look to build off the momentum from last night’s win with tonight’s game. Yesterday the offense was able to string hits together to score runs, something they just haven’t been able to do consistently throughout the season. Today Morton gets the start for the Pirates as he faces off against Colon.

Colon is 3-5 over 9 starts and 57.1 innings with a 5.34 ERA. Last time out, wasn’t really a time out. He allowed 2 runs in 4.0 innings or so against the Diamondbacks, but the game was called due to rain, so it is as if it didn’t happen. In his last official game, he allowed 2 ER over 8.0 innings of work against the Nationals. He has made five starts against the Pirates with a 3-1 record with a 1.46 ERA over 37.0 innings. The Pirates have the following numbers against Colon:

Stewart 4-9

Snider 3-8

Martin 1-6, 2B

Marte 0-4

McCutchen 1-4

Tabata 2-4

Morton is 1-6 this year with a 3.29 ERA over 10 games and 63.0 innings. His last start was a good one and he was finally in the win column as he allowed 1 ER over 5.2 innings against the Nationals. He has made 5 starts and pitched 32.0 innings in May with a 2.25 ERA while striking out 20 batters. Last year he allowed 2 ER in 7.0 innings against the Mets who have the following numbers against him:

The Mets will try to even up the series when they play the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 7:10 PM matchup at Citi Field. Jon Niese (3-3, 2.70) will take the mound for the Mets and will oppose right-hander Edinson Volquez (2-4, 4.37) for the Bucs.

Vic Black is due to rejoin the Mets to replace Valverde. Black has flown from Las Vegas to New York to El Paso and now back to New York in the past three days.

Travis d’Arnaud went 0-for-4 as the DH in his second rehab game with Binghamton as he returns from a concussion. D’Arnaud is due to catch Tuesday for the B-Mets. He could be activated from the disabled list as soon as Wednesday.

Adam Rubin tweeted that Chris Young has clearly been benched regardless of how the team chooses to phrase it.

Starting Lineup

The Mets look to bounce back from a tough defeat on Monday when they take on the Pirates tonight. Yesterday, they lost 5-3 in the homecoming of Ike Davis who went 0-2 with a walk. On the other side, Lucas Duda had a couple of hits including a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth. Today Edinson Volquez will take the mound for the Pirates as Jon Niese will start for the Mets.

Niese is 3-3 over 9 starts and 56.2 innings of work this season with a 2.70 ERA. In his last three starts he is 1-1 over 17.0 innings allowing 11 runs, 9 earned with a 4.76 ERA with 6 BB and 13 strikeouts. Last year he had an ugly start against the Pirates where he allowed 8 earned runs over 4.1 innings, 3 walks and struck out one. The Pirates have the following numbers against Niese:

Sanchez 5-21, 2B, HR

Barmes 5-14, 2B, HR

Martin 1-8, HR

McCutchen 4-8, 2 2B

Tabata 4-5, 2 2B

Walker 1-6

Volquez is 2-4 over 10 games and 9 starts and 55.2 innings with a 4.37 ERA in his first year with the Pirates. He had a rough start to May in the first three games allowing 14 earned runs over 16 innings. In his last outing he allowed 1 ER over 6.0 innings, which was shades of how he started out 2014. In his two games last year against the Mets he pitched 8.0 innings allowing 8 earned runs. The Mets have the following numbers against Volquez:

The Mets will open a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Memorial Day at Citi Field, with the first pitch at 1:10 PM. The game will be televised on SNY and broadcast on WOR.

Jacob deGrom (0-2, 2.77) will make his third start for the Mets, opposed by fellow righty Brandon Cumpton (0-1, 4.26) for the Bucs, who was just recalled from Triple-A.

DeGrom took the loss in his first two career starts despite collecting a quality start in each game. DeGrom became the second pitcher in franchise history to toss at least 6.0 innings while allowing four hits or fewer in his first two major league games.

Jenrry Mejia pitched in both ends of Sunday’s doubleheader vs. Arizona. He allowed an unearned run to suffer the loss in the first game and closed out the Mets’ 4-2 win in the second for his third save. The last Mets pitcher to have a loss and a save in a doubleheader was Jesse Orosco on August 19, 1984 at San Francisco

It will be former Met Ike Davis‘ first game in Queens since being traded on April 18. Since joining the Bucs, Davis is batting .303 in 32 games with a .395 on-base and .824 OPS in 115 plate appearances. He has lifted his season totals significantly and is now slashing at .283/.389/.424.

Starting Lineup

The Mets split the doubleheader yesterday and head into a series with the Pirates today. In the first game yesterday, Montero diced up the Diamondbacks lineup but the offense couldn’t get into the game and the Mets lost in a frustrating way. In the later afternoon game, the Mets were able to pull out a win and will hopefully build off of that today with the Pirates and Ike Davis returning to town.

Jacob deGrom will make his third start of the season today. In his first two starts he has pitched 13.0 innings allowing 4 runs (2.77 ERA), 8 hits, 5 walks and 10 strikeouts. When his starts are looked at more closely, his first start was excellent, allowing one earned run over seven innings. The second start was more average allowing three earned runs over six innings. Knowing this, it makes sense that deGrom has never faced anyone in the Pirates lineup in a major league game.

The Mets bats will get a look at Brandon Cumpton who is 0-1 over two starts this season with a 4.26 ERA over 12.2 innings. Cumpton hasn’t pitched in the majors since May 1st, and was called up with Wandy Rodriguez being DFA’d earlier this week. Last year he pitched in 6 games across the season totaling 30.2 innings with a 2.05 ERA. In the minors this year he has pitched 6 games with a 1.35 ERA with a 4-1 record. He has never faced the Mets or any batter on the Mets roster.

First baseman Lucas Duda left seven men on base and took responsibility for Saturday’s 3-2 loss against the Diamondbacks.

“I’d like to think it’s a bit of a bad stretch. I can only speak for me personally. I’ve got to drive those runs in, no doubt. I’ll take the blame for this one today.”

Duda’s day began by striking out with the bases loaded in the first inning, swinging wildly after a high pitch after taking two strikes down the middle.

“Definitely a ball. Absolutely. Poor pitch selection,” Duda said. “A poor at-bat, really. Like I said, I’ll take the blame for this one. It was just one of those days. I had a terrible day at the plate. It goes like that. It’s a tough game.”

Duda went 0-4 and is hitting .210 (20-for-95) since April 15 with a .655 OPS since he became the regular first baseman.

Meanwhile, since joining the Bucs, Ike Davis is batting .293 in 30 games with a .387 on-base and .811 OPS in 106 plate appearances. He has lifted his season totals to .276/.382/.424.

Jason Starks of ESPN.comwrites that the Pirates continue to monitor Ike Davis‘ status in Mets camp.

The Pirates are looking to find a left handed hitting platoon to partner with Gaby Sanchez at first base. Stark shares that when Morales and/or Nelson Cruz sign, it could result in players such as Justin Smoak or Mitch Moreland becoming available.

But Huntington also said: “That doesn’t stop us from looking elsewhere. It’s just that now, our bar has been set a little bit higher, as to ‘How do we make the club better?’ And ‘How do we make the club better at the right situation for us?’ … If there’s something that makes us better, and makes sense for us, we’ll still look to do that.”

Well if Huntington feels that Davis makes them better, then it will be interesting to see if Sandy Alderson makes a deal with the Bucs again. Just last summer the Mets traded away Marlon Byrd and John Buck to the Pirates and received in return, relief pitcher Vic Black and top prospect Dilson Herrera. Could another deal be in the works again? Only time will tell.

Let’s look at the players currently listed as the #1 player at first base depth chart on the official MLB team websites. If you were a GM, would you replace that player with either Ike Davis or Lucas Duda?

Baltimore Orioles – Chris Davis. Crash made 155 starts at first base in 2013 and led the AL in Home Runs and RBI’s. A possibility if Chris moves to DH, but not a necessity.

Boston Red Sox – Mike Napoli. He just signed a 2 year deal for $32 million. Nope.

San Diego Padres – Yader Alonso. Pre-arbitration eligible. Hasn’t done much in the majors – not likely, but a possibility.

San Francisco Giants – Brandon Belt. First year arbitration eligible coming off a good 2013 campaign. Nope.

Orioles, Mariners, Brewers, Pirates, Padres. None of them have any major incentive to make an overwhelming offer to acquire Ike Davis. A trade for Duda by any of these teams wouldn’t net a top prospect as he’d just be in the mix to compete and won’t be guaranteed a job before spring training ends.

Teams would rather use the designated hitter spot to mix and match, give other position players a blow, etc. Unless they are acquiring a star to play DH everyday, no team is going to go all-out for a player who barely touched .200 in the last two years to be their DH – no matter how seductive his power looks.

It was on this day in 1972, that baseball great Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash while delivering food and water to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. He has canceled all plans to celebrate the new year, opting instead to be a ray of hope for victims in need and in desperation. He was already a baseball legend before that tragic day, but now he was an immortal. Please enjoy this post from John Bernhardt who reviewed the must read book, “Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero” for us this past summer. - Joe D.

The new GM was cool and manipulative in his transactions, meticulous with his records, formal in his speech, stingy with his money, interested equally in a player’s psychological disposition and his ability to learn an elusive hook slide.

This GM’s world could be studied, categorized, and explained. Good things did not fall upon people, or baseball clubs, by accident. Worthwhile doesn’t generally just happen. Luck is a fact, but should not be a factor. Good luck is what is left over after intelligence and effort have combined at their best. Luck is the residue of design.

So what is the design? The club was in a downward spiral when he arrived. He strongly believed when they got better it would not be through luck. He expanded the number of minor league affiliates and started stockpiling them with young players underscoring his belief that, in baseball, the surest way to get quality was through quantity. He spent what seemed to him was a huge sum on prospects. He tried to rid the team of popular players who in his opinion could never take his new franchise to a championship.

When I found this account, it read like a slice of a sports column written by Mike Vaccaro, Adam Rubin, or Joel Sherman about the Met General Manager Sandy Alderson. I couldn’t help but think of the Met General Manager. The parallels were obvious, resembling a blueprint of sorts for the path the Met GM has followed over the past three years.

In fact, the piece is an adaptation of sorts from “Clemente,” a fascinating and enlightening biography written by David Maraniss, describing the strategies employed by Branch Rickey when he was hired to turn around the fortunes of a dreadful Pittsburgh Pirates franchise in the first half of the 1950’s.

I simply substituted ‘the new GM‘ for places where David Maraniss had used Branch Rickey and sliced and diced a tad to hide the identity of the man being described. Do I have any deep perspectives or nuggets of wisdom to add to the comparison. No. I just thought it was interesting how circumstances from two completely different baseball eras could draw parallels that appear to align so neatly.

In Rickey’s case his strategies to transform the Pirates did not find success during his tenure as GM. That’s not intended as an indictment of Sandy Alderson. I’m just stating facts. And, I’m one of those battered Met fans who’s loyalty is sometimes challenged because I still believe Sandy Alderson has administered wisely. With some enlightened moves this off-season and a little bit of luck,it’s possible we could begin to see a measurable difference next summer.

In Branch Rickey’s case, his work in Pittsburgh was not all for naught. Buried in that stockpile of young prospects Rickey brought to the Iron City were some baseball gems, and the one that shone the brightest, a guy named Clemente. Those gems did help turn around the Pirates fortunes to eventually bring the Bucs the World Series title they coveted, but not until Rickey had departed.

What I do know is that David Maraniss is a marvelous writer who weaves together Roberto Clemente’s story into a compelling can’t-put-the-book-down read.

Another fascinating comparison I read was Clemente’s prescription for breaking out of a batting slump. Maraniss paints Clemente as an intelligent man with a restless mind that was constantly considering life. With a blend of logic and superstition,

Clemente came up with theories about everything.

One of those theories explained how baseball batters could shuck a batting slump. As Maraniss describes it, Clemente was adamant that the way to break out of a batting slump was to make sure you got at least three hacks at the ball every time you batted.

The Pirate great reasoned that using his theory with 4 at-bats in a game, the percentages shifted your way. All you needed was one good contact with ball to bat out of the twelve tries to get a hit.

Elegantly simple. If you want to break out of a slump try swinging at the ball. I loved it. What a contrast to the sabermetric world that governs the baseball world of today.

The Clemente story takes me back to a baseball world I studied using baseball cards when I was a kid. I adored Clemente. Why? Our birthdays fell on the same calendar day of the year. That was a big deal to a kid who loved baseball. I can remember scouring my cards to find somebody born on August 18. When I finally found the guy it was the great Roberto Clemente.

Maraniss reintroduces you to so many names from the past, and helps you expand your understanding of baseball’s prejudice and discrimination against all people of color. It’s a great read.Check it out.

McGuiness, 25, is coming off his first Triple-A season where he batted .246 with 11 home runs and 43 RBI in 104 games last season for Round Rock. His plate discipline led to an on-base percentage of .369 and an OPS of .792. He also made his Major League debut last season, appearing in 10 mid-June games with the Rangers. In McGuiness, the Pirates get the left-handed bat they were looking for to platoon with Gaby Sanchez.

The trade likely impacts the market for Ike Davis as the Pirates were one of three teams who had reported interest in the Mets first baseman. the other two being the Orioles and Brewers.

The Mets unsuccessfully tried to get pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez from the Orioles for Davis, but were turned down. The O’s said they would need to be blown away to deal their young pitching prospect.

Sandy Alderson continues to hold out for a young pitcher for Davis, even if it means keeping him. My guess is that if Davis becomes the power hitter he’s been projected to be for another team, Alderson wants to make sure he gets a top arm out of it.

Seeing Davis become a 35+ home run hitter elsewhere would definitely sting. But will a team deal a top prospect on a hunch that Ike could be that guy? That’s the dilemma.

The Ike Davis rumors first caught fire at the GM Meetings and then again at the Winter Meetings when Sandy Alderson had several conversations with Brewers GM Doug Melvin in a trade for their young pitching prospect, Tyler Thornburg. However, those discussions fizzled out when the Brewers balked at the suggestion.

Surprisingly, there hasn’t been as much interest in Davis as many expected. Now 27, the former first rounder batted .205 last season with 101 strikeouts in 317 at-bats, and has also seen a decline in his defense.

It’s unclear just how serious or active talks are with the O’s and Brewers right now. But both teams are also reportedly looking at other options like Kendrys Morales, Mitch Moreland and Mike Carp.

Jorge Castillo of the Star-Ledger wrote today, that while Lucas Duda is also a left-handed-hitting first baseman teams may want, Mets officials have emphasized trading Davis isn’t mandatory. But given their public stance on trading a first baseman, they would like to before players report for spring training in mid-February.